"Brian Hoff is a God-send! We at Palm Springs High School were astounded to find such a creative and passionate influence for our students. Mr. Hoff has given countless hours and shared his enthusiasm with dozens of our students. Not only has he shared his personal career pathway in animation with several classes of students but he also has served as a mentor working weekly with students interested in the animation industry. Clearly, Mr. Hoff has excited our young people and helped ignite creative verve that will be a foundation for everything in these young people’s lives."

Richard Kravitz, Guidance Councilor

Palm Springs High School

Welcome to the Palm Springs International Animation Festival

This inaugural season we have received over 2700 unique film entries from 103 countries. Each year our team of jurors work to select 250+ titles from shorts to features that showcase the breadth of the art form. We hold our judging to nine cinematic virtues: storytelling, humor, heart, ideas, originality, visual interest, craftsmanship, diversity, and gut-level viewing pleasure.

We're proud to be featuring award winning films from Cannes, Annecy, Tribeca and Sundance with Oscar and Grammy artists and producers in a variety of styles from 2D, 3D, Hand Drawn, Water Color, Oil Painted, VFX & Rotoscoping, Experimental, Sand, Paper, Anime, and Stop-Motion. We will be featuring film for All Ages in a variety of genres from Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror and Abstract.

The festival experience is about more than just watching film after film. During intermissions, or at the after-parties, strike up a conversation about what you’ve just seen. Review the show with your date, pointing out personal favorites in the program. Ask one of the animators about what went into creating their project. Join the animation tribe, trading tips about local job opportunities. At its heart, the festival is a family reunion for animation-lovers.

Whether you’ve been attending since year one,

or whether you’re discovering indie animation for the

first time... The magic ingredient that turns films into

a festival is you. We’re here together to celebrate

creativity of these artists who have worked so hard

to transform their daydreams into a fantasy reality

and appreciate how much love has been poured into

these projects.

Thank you to everyone who has given their support to this colossal undertaking. Thank you to the film jurors, the friends who’ve helped get the word out, and the volunteers who have help promote this exciting event! Most of all, thank you to the filmmakers. Your films delight and inspire—it is a pleasure to help bring them to a wider audience.

Animation is a powerful form of art with the ability to educate, inform and inspire a new world of storytelling. Our goal and passion is to celebrate amazing animated films, the talented artist and their teams from around the world.